


Languid Invention

by ChainKinnix



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Ben Solo, Badass Rey, Bisexual Ben Solo, F/M, Hands, Meet-Cute, POV Ben Solo, Rey is a blacksmith, ben is stressed sometimes, i guess? is what you'd call her
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:29:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24773164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChainKinnix/pseuds/ChainKinnix
Summary: “Rey is the creator of the anonymous YouTube account 'MyMechanics', where she transforms old mechanical stuff into new creations. Ben is an avid viewer. It soothes him watching her hands work. When he meets a woman at a bar he is intrigued - because he knows these hands.” - From reylo_prompts--When she placed her other hand on the bar and started meddling with the square paper napkin atop it, he couldn’t help but think he had seen those hands before.Heknewhe had. He was hit with the same uncomfortable nagging that occurs when you can’t place an actor’s face from that one role you know them from. Because he knew those hands, he was certain that he would recognise those hands anywhere.
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Phasma, Rey & Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48
Collections: Reylo Prompt Fills (@reylo_prompts)





	Languid Invention

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bc_labyrinth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bc_labyrinth/gifts).



* * *

Ben had just finished his 12th hour of overtime for the week. He didn’t mind putting in so many additional hours when he first started working at the firm, he understood that he needed to pay his dues. The problem was that he had been working there for 6 years now and had nearly nothing to show for it.

The salary was good, but the hit to his social life was ludicrous. He had three failed relationships, at least a handful of cancelled dates, and zero holidays hours in years.

Perhaps the most disheartening aspect of the work was that he didn’t have any free time anymore to work on his hobbies. Before starting his job at Snoke, Palpatine, & Associates, he would spend hours working on his art and calligraphy. In fact, his freelance calligraphy was the only thing that kept him afloat until he landed his job.

He loved anything he could do with his hands. It was a trait he got from his father who always said, “Take care of your hands, they’re the only tools you’ll always have with you.” A fact that his father always utilized, whether it be by fixing up old cars, meddling in carpentry, landscaping, you name it. Ben followed in his footsteps with his art, albeit probably not _exactly_ the way his father intended.

Nevertheless, his job prevented him from having any of the time or energy to work on his own projects. Any time off he had was dedicated to chores around the house or catching up on sleep. Sleep that was always interrupted by obsessing over work. He was always convinced he had completed a task incorrectly or had forgotten to do something altogether.

Confessing such a thing was exactly how his closest friend, Phasma, introduced him to ASMR. She was one of his only reprieves at work. They had grown close in college and it was only luck that they were hired at the same firm. They often grabbed drinks together after work – mainly due to the convenience of always knowing when they had free time. It was exhausting to try and coordinate schedules with anyone who didn’t understand their work demands. There’s only so many times you can use overtime as an excuse before it starts to feel like a cop out.

She explained to him that watching it before she went to bed was incredibly relaxing and always lulled her off to sleep. Something about the soft noises and visuals soothed her mind. Ben tried to get into it, he really did. For several nights in a row, he watched any recommended video Phasma sent to him. From someone getting their hair played with, face measuring, makeup applications, you name it. It never worked.

His main issue was usually the suspended disbelief associated with ASMR. Why were they always tapping? Since when are fingernails on glass a pleasant sound? Why could they not open a jar without sliding the lid across the top for several minutes? Just open it! Half the time he was meant to be relaxing, he found himself cynically reviewing the video in his head. Lighting 5/5, wet mouth noises 0/5, whispering 5/5, incessant tapping or scraping 0/5.

He usually gave up and accepted that it wasn’t for him and put on the sound of rain to lull himself to sleep instead.

* * *

It was a Saturday afternoon when Ben was killing some time going on some YouTube deep dives while his laundry dried. All the ASMR videos had screwed with the recommendation algorithm, and he found himself needing to scroll through pages of it before he could find anything that piqued his interest.

Not long later, YouTube recommended a channel called “MyMechanics,” some sort of repurposed and inventive machinery content. Admittedly, he knew very little about mechanics and metal work. Part of him always wished he learned, probably due to some random movie he watched when he was younger that featured an interesting blacksmith character.

He was jealous of anyone with talents like that, someone who could create something unique with their bare hands. Or look at an object and immediately have the imagination to turn it into something else. That’s also why he loved house flipping shows. It amazed him the way some people could look at a space and immediately have ideas of how to improve it.

Despite his own art, Ben always considered himself to be a very “in the box” thinker, never able to let his mind run away with creative ideas entirely. That’s probably why he loved calligraphy so much. He would be able to flourish the letters with artistry as much as he wanted, but the words were always given to him in advance.

He clicked on the channel’s first recommended video - it was something to do with turning a metal bolt into a combination lock. The first thing that struck him immediately was the professionalism of the space and the equipment that was being used. _How do people afford machinery like this?_ The second thing that he noticed was that there was no speaking ( _thank god_ ). He couldn’t tolerate another person awkwardly stammering their way through their creative process.

The third thing that he noticed was their hands _._ Thin and petite but _strong_. He was immediately enamoured by the way they moved, the firm grace in the way they maneuvered around the machines they worked with. Part of him was wincing during the video, nervous that the creator would hurt themselves. The other parts of him found himself trusting the movements entirely – like he was certain that those hands knew what they were doing.

Ben enjoyed that there was no narration. He got the sense that whoever made the video wasn’t doing it for educational purposes or for monetary gain. Instead, it was as if the creator simply invited the camera into their space to share something they loved doing.

It was clear from the video that they were passionate about the project. The patience and will power required to put the time into such a task was evident. He could easily see himself giving up halfway through, and that fact made him admire the creator that much more.

He considered the video to be incredibly relaxing and rewarding to watch. Ben found himself in a sense of calm when it was finished, but he also felt fulfilled by seeing the final project. There was something incredibly soothing about watching the lithe hands work their way through the process and come out with something so unique and interesting at the end.

He had watched a further three videos by the time his solace was interrupted by his dryer beeping to indicate his clothes were finished.

* * *

As the weeks pressed on, Ben had turned into a frequent visitor of the MyMechanics channel. In fact, it was the only channel he actually bothered to subscribe to, always eager to watch any new video they posted.

The videos were the only thing that could distract him after a particularly irritating day at work. He didn’t like watching them before bed because he always wanted to pay attention. He could never draw his eyes away from the purposeful dexterity of those hands. Ben never considered himself to have a kink for hands or anything like that, but he could certainly appreciate them.

It never really occurred to him that hands could be a particularly attractive body part until he watched _Titanic_ and Jack went on about how beautiful they were on the women he drew in France. Then, come to think of it, he definitely had exes whose hands drew his eye more than others. Women with thin, elegant hands. Men with strong, veiny hands. Okay, so maybe he did have a bit of a kink for them. But that’s normal, right?

* * *

On a Friday evening one night after work, Ben and Phasma were lucky enough to escape the office at around 7. They met up with Armie, Phasma’s long term boyfriend, and meandered to a nearby bar for drinks and some light food.

He was always amazed at how Phasma and Armie made their relationship work despite their hectic schedules. She had explained to him that it was all about prioritising their relationship above anything else. Ben supposed he just never found anyone worth putting the work in with.

A few hours later, it was Ben’s turn to grab rounds for everyone and he made his way to the bar.

“Guinness, pint of lager, and a screwdriver, please,” he placed his order with the bartender and took a seat to wait. That was the downside of favouring Guinness, it took twice as long as anything else to pour. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through Reddit to pass the time.

A moment later, a hand placed itself next to him on the bar to hoist a young woman onto the stool beside him. The hand donned a small, silver ring on its fourth finger and the simplicity of it caught his eye. Ben found himself staring at the small hand, the way it softly gripped the edge of the bar for balance.

His eyes drifted upwards and took in the brunette seated next to him. Her short, wavy hair was cute, drawing attention to her defined jaw and cheekbones. Not wanting to feel too creepy for blatantly staring at the woman, his eyes turned downwards again. When she placed her other hand on the bar and started meddling with the square paper napkin atop it, he couldn’t help but think he had seen those hands before.

He _knew_ he had. He was hit with the same uncomfortable nagging that occurs when you can’t place an actor’s face from that one role you know them from. Because he knew those hands, he was certain that he would recognise those hands anywhere. Those were the same hands he had seen turn an old bolt into a beautiful combination lock, or a bolt into a miniature machete, or whatever else the anonymous mind could come up with.

But what were the chances that the creator of the channel lived there? He didn’t know anything about them - man, woman, nationality, nothing. He had also never seen a ring on their finger before, but that didn’t necessarily mean much. They probably wouldn’t want to risk damaging it.

She seemed to notice him staring at her hands and she slowly dragged them in towards her body, casting him an odd look. _Way to go, Benjamin._

He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I, ah. I like your ring,” he muttered to her over the noise of the bar, trying his hardest to sound casual.

She looked at him and then down at her hand, eyeing the ring in question. She lightly wiggled the fingers of her right hand, jostling the ring a bit in the light.

“Oh, thanks,” she chuckled lightly, “it’s not much. I made it myself a few years ago.”

_No way._

“No shit? Do you make jewellery?”

“Not usually, no. I mainly made this to see if I could. I like to repurpose metals,” she added, her tone conversational and encouraging.

He nodded and looked down at her hands again. _It has to be._ He decided to go for it.

“Just curious, you don’t happen to have a YouTube channel, do you? It’s just, I’ve been watching these videos recently of someone who repurposes bolts into different things and…” he stopped himself before he admitted that he’d been obsessing over her hands for weeks. Luckily, she jumped in to save him.

“I do, actually! That’s so funny you mention that, I like to utilize whatever I have laying around and lately I’ve been on a bolt kick. Other times I just scavenge garage sales for other metals I can refurbish or transform into something else,” she lit up as she spoke. It was clearly a subject she was passionate about and he grew more and more certain it was her.

“I don’t suppose there’s any chance your channel is MyMechanics? I know that’s probably like a one in a million possibility, but…”

Her eyes grew wider as she considered his question and she turned in her seat towards him, a smile growing on her face.

“You watch my channel? That’s so cool! I’ve never met anyone who’s seen my videos before,” she exclaimed, leaning herself on the bar to give him her full attention.

Suddenly he felt nervous. It wasn’t like he’d call himself a _fan_ of hers, but she had been a part of his day for weeks. A significant part of his day. As in, the part that allowed him to actually relax after hours of stress. He certainly wasn’t expecting her to be so beautiful – that definitely adds another element to the videos.

“Yeah, I do,” he laughed awkwardly. “I watch them a lot, actually. I find them really soothing. How do you come up with all the ideas for what you turn items into?”

“Well, it started out as a matter of necessity. Then I watched _The Da Vinci Code_ and fell in love with that metal cryptex they use. I was all prepared to buy myself one until I went online and saw the proper metal ones were nearly $200. So, basically I said, ‘fuck that, I can make that for way cheaper’ and that’s what I did,” she laughed lightly and shook her head at her story.

He was about to respond until suddenly Phasma was at his side, putting a light hand on his shoulder, pushing him out of the way.

“I guess I’ll grab these,” she muttered and took the pint of lager and screwdriver, winking as she walked back to the table with Armie.

He had no idea how long the drinks were sitting in front of him.

“Can I buy you a drink? I’m Ben,” he asked her, holding his hand out to introduce himself. Then her warm hand was in his, the small bones under his fingertips.

“I’m Rey, and I would really like that,” she smiled at him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> If you’d like to watch the bolt into lock youtube video you may do so [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyhfQYHnJuM).  
> Or the mini machete video mentioned [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkzk-6lCSHc).  
> (They’re both honestly so entertaining).
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](https://chainkinnix.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ChainKinnix)!


End file.
